The Shondaland era of Netflix officially begins this Christmas with Bridgerton, a new series that marries the trashy melodrama of Grey’s Anatomy with the sparky Britishness of Downton Abbey. An adaptation of Julia Quinn’s historical romance novels, the series was executive produced by Shonda Rhimes and created by Scandal alum Chris Van Dusen. Today, Netflix dropped the show’s first teaser.
Phoebe Dynevor stars as Daphne Bridgerton, a noble set to make her debut onto “Regency London’s competitive marriage market,” where she catches the eye of the ultimate bad boy hunk—that’s right, the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page). Haunting their courtship is a “high society scandal sheet” penned by the mysterious Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews), a messy bitch who clearly loves the drama.
Jonathan Bailey, Nicola Coughlan, Claudia Jessie, Ruby Barker, and Adjoa Andoh round out the cast of the 8-episode series. Prepare to clutch your peals when it premieres on December 25.